A teenage runaway faces Armageddon

If the dystopian coming-of-age novel has been the inspiration for many a Hollywood blockbuster in recent years, the increasingly ubiquitous genre more closely resembles literary fiction in critically acclaimed author Chris Bohjalian’s Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands.

Murders in Italy trace back to WWII secrets

In his 15 novels, Chris Bohjalian has delved into a potpourri of weighty topics, including environmental activism, medical malpractice suits and interracial adoption. Some of his more recent novels are injected with an element of mystery, and he continues on that track with his latest—a brilliant blend of historical fiction and a chilling serial killer story.This gripping novel opens in...

Bohjalian's ghostly mystery

Over the past two decades, best-selling author Chris Bohjalian has written about everything from a woman’s madness following a sexual assault (The Double Bind) to a midwife’s trial for manslaughter (Midwives). Now he has given readers a spellbinding, heart-pounding novel partially inspired by his own life in The Night Strangers.In 1987, Bohjalian purchased a Victorian house, only to...

Resilience amid the horrors of war

In his latest novel, Skeletons at the Feast, Chris Bohjalian takes his readers to World War II-era Europe in a gripping tale told from various viewpoints. This is a departure for Bohjalian, whose previous novels, including Midwives and The Double Bind, are largely set in bucolic New England, where the author himself resides. Bohjalian was inspired to delve into the last days of the Third Reich...

Coping with a family tragedy

In Chris Bohjalian's absorbing new novel, Before You Know Kindness, a family's outwardly serene existence is shattered by one violent moment on an ill-fated summer night. As the aftermath of this event is depicted, Bohjalian effectively draws the reader into the inner lives of every family member, each of whom is dealing with the tragic event in his or her own unique way.Interwoven...